Water-Wise Resources – Ojai Valley Green Coalititon

Over one-half of all residential customer’s water use is for outdoor landscaping. With drought restrictions and allocations imposed by water agencies, is it time to RETHINK the Landscape – what is the highest and best use of your landscape water?

Water Wise Landscaping Tips

First, call your water company (in the City of Ojai it is Casitas Water or Meiners Oaks Water, Ventura River Water District) and ask for a Water Survey, where a water surveyor will go over your water bill, help you determine the amount of water used inside vs outside, read your water meter and check for leaks, and identify ways to save water with your irrigation/landscape. Some agencies also have water wise site assessments that can help you come up with ideas to use water more efficiently, including what to plant, how to remove turf, what trees to plant etc.

Trees & shrubs take longer to establish—take care of them!

Managing grass is tricky in the Ojai Valley, as a traditional lawn requires about 54” of water/sf/year. Our average rainfall is only 21 inches/year, with recent rainfall only 10.5 inches per year for past 6 years. It is hard to justify keeping your grass green with drought restrictions, allocations and penalties being imposed to reduce our water consumption to help make supplies last longer.

Reduce/Remove Your Turf

Rethink the lawn, do you use it? Info on Lawn Care from UC Ag & Natural Resources
Maybe consider a smaller turf area by gradually reducing size or maybe switch to a low water grass that takes less water and maintenance. Choose and identify your turf species here Consider warm season turf (~ 20-30% less H2O).
Gradually reduce water (harden off over time) and let it spring back to life if/when we get rain.
Let it go brown, and re-seed with compost during rainy season (and hope for rain).
Replace with native turf (~ 50% less H2O) more info at S&S Seeds
Mow lawns higher during summer- reduces growth rate, protects from sunburn, promotes deeper root growth, shades soil, reduces weeds, and grass cycle your cuttings back into lawn.
LONG TERM SOLUTION: Get rid of turf and plant “climate appropriate plants”, which require one-fifth the water and one-quarter the maintenance of lawn (not just succulents save H2O).
Replace nonessential turf with ground covers, mulches, permeable walkways, mulched basins, or rain gardens (~600 gallons H20 captured from 1,000 sq feet roof in 1” rain) to keep rain water on site. More info on rain gardens here.
Install a greywater system that recycles laundry water back into your landscape. More info on how to do it here with Ventura County regulations and permit information here
Low water using plants i.e. California native plants need time to establish (1-2 years) so introduce new plants into your landscape in December or January, when weather is cooler and chance of rain likely.
Plant in the fall when rain is expected and temps are cooler.
How much water is needed? Based on size and age of plant and climate, we may still need to water in the summer if little rain and really hot. See WUCOLS rating of plants water requirements at http://waterwonk.us (select only plants with low or very low water demands).
Mulch, mulch, mulch! Cools soil, reduces weeds, feeds SOIL, retains water. Info about mulch and sustainable landscaping found here
Create Healthy SOIL – OWL – Oxygen Water & Life, add Compost Tea
Avoid heavy pruning – adds stress.
Don’t use fertilizers, which increase growth rate and water demands.
Convert pop-ups to mini rotors or cap off and change-out to drip.
Install a rain garden – more information from UC Extension is here

Edible Gardens – Plant enough for your household, drought resistant varieties with short growing season, critical watering periods are when transplanting and fruit development. Add compost which provides nutrients to soil, improves water holding capacity and yields.

CA Rare Fruit Growers-SB & Ventura Chapter

Water Conservation Tips – Vegetable Gardens

Water for wildlife – Use shallow dish, put stick in it so critters can climb in, add rocks and put in shade, refill often. For birds container should be above ~ 3′ above ground.

Water Wise GARDENS & PLACES TO VISIT

Meiners Oaks Elementary School -Watershed Friendly Garden

Cluff Vista Park in Ojai- Native Garden designed by Tom Bostrom

Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens in Santa Barbara

Firescape Gardens at Stanwood Dr. and Mission Ridge Rd. in Santa Barbara

Ventura Botanical Gardens in Ventura

Seaside Gardens in Carpenteria

Lotus Land http://www.lotusland.org/ in Montecito

Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley

Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont

Grow Natives Nursery near UCLA in Veterans Garden

Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge

South Coast Botanic Garden in Palos Verdes Peninsula

San Luis Obispo Botanic Gardens in San Luis Obispo

The LA Arboretum in Arcadia

The Huntington Gardens in San Marino

Arlington Garden in South Pasadena

U.C. AG & Natural Resources-Master Gardeners

Capture the Rain and Let it Flow

Plant list for Rain Gardens

Water Conservations Tips for the Home Lawn & Garden

Sustainable Landscaping In California

33 Ways to Save Water in Your Home Garden

California Institute for Water Resources

California Water Districts & Associations

NEW! Coastal California Rain Gardens

NEW! Keeping Landscape Plantings Alive under Drought or Water Restrictions

Gardening Basics: How do I practice sustainable gardening?

Lawn Watering Guide for California

Managing Turfgrass During Drought

Managing Water, Sustainably

Questions & Answers About Water Conservation and Drought in the Landscape

Water Conservation Tips for Home Lawn and Garden

Fire Safety

California Native Plant Society Native Plant Landscaping Reduce Fire Risk

Ojai Fire Safe Council

HFH Plant List, Santa Barbara Fire Resistant Plant List

Landscape Professionals

California Landscape Contractors Association

SO CAL American Society of Landscape Architects

Association of Professional Landscape Designers

Water Managers Certified by the California Landscape Contractors Association

Water Management Study Guide of CA Landscape Contractors Association

State and Local Resources

Casitas Water Drought Declaration and Water Waste Prohibitions

City of Ojai Drought Information and Resources

Ventura County Seasonal Rainfall Map

County of Santa Barbara WaterWise Landscaping

City of Santa Barbara Drought and Water Conservation Information

State of California – Water Use Efficiency

California Model Water Use Efficiency Ordinance (MWELO)

WUCOLS plant database of water requirements by region in CA Save Our Water Program

Capturing Rainwater

Rain gardens offer an an attractive and practical way to conserve water in your landscape. Rain garden design and placement require planning (not too close to the foundation of buildings) and sizing (big enough to capture one inch of rain off of a nearby roof), along with the ability to drain and percolate water into soil (based on soil texture and structure i.e. percentage of sand, silt and clay ). Rain gardens also need to be designed with spillways for very large rain event, so extreme amounts of rainwater can “spill out” and into the storm drains. And don’t forget the plants, which have to like being wet in the rainy season and dry in the summer. More info below:

San Luis Obispo Guide to LID

Iowa Rain Garden Design and Installation Manual

Youtube Videos Calculating Runoff https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMmNY7SimV8

Plants for Rain Gardens

LID Plant Guidance for Bio Retention

UC CAL Extension SEA GRANT – Rain Gardens

Favorite Websites on WaterWise Plants

WUCOLS WUCOLS plant database water requirements by region in CA

CALIFORNIA FRIENDLY LANDSCAPE WEBSITE from Met Water District in LA

Gardening Success with Ca Native Plants from Master Gardeners of Sonoma County

LA County Green Building Program | DRP

CA Native Plant Society of LA and Santa Monica Mountains- List of Resources